A Friendly Game of Peek-a-Boo
As a kid, I did some really weird shit…
For starters, I had this thing with dolls. But instead of tea parties, I preferred to tie yarn around their necks, hang them over the staircase, and put on a “puppet show.” Needless to say, my mom thought I was spiraling down a path of lynching and murder.
Then there were my Mortal Kombat moments. Picture this: the lights go out, everyone in the family is on edge, and suddenly, I burst into the room wielding an inflatable bat, belting out “FINISH HIM!”
And let’s not forget, one time I boobie-trapped our entire house because I thought those talking M&M guys were out to get me.
Perhaps my pièce de résistance was my weekly Madonna tribute. Every Friday, I’d slip into my mom’s stilettos and belt out her classics like a mini Material Girl. Surprisingly, my mother never picked up that I might be gay.
Yet amidst the chaos, one game stands out as my crowning achievement: The Face-Off. The rules were simple: every time I saw my Dad, I had to make the goofiest face imaginable. Think contorted features and feral growls. Sometimes I’d squint my eyes. Other times, I’d pull on my ears. One time, I vividly remember putting a Hot Wheels car in my mouth and spitting it at him.
Yeah, my faces were pretty disturbing. I would pop out my eyes like Arnold Schwarzenegger in Total Recall.
Now, Dad wasn’t one to back down from a challenge. When I went full-on deranged with my expressions, he matched me beat for beat, turning our house into a sideshow spectacle. It was like playing peek-a-boo, but with all parties involved looking constipated.
But there was one showdown where Dad truly outdid himself. With a masterful display of facial contortion, he fell to the floor, pouted his lips, and rolled his eyes in the back of his head. I tried to counter by pulling on my hair and yelping obnoxious goat noises. But as Dad continued to flop around like a wounded pigeon, I admitted defeat and started laughing. Surprisingly, he didn’t stop; opting to continue motorboating the air. Impressive technique. How the hell was he making such an amazing face?
Well, it turns out he was having a seizure.
36 Comments
Aly
Oh wow x.x I was laughing up until that last bit. I used to play games like that with my dad all of the time =3
We actually used to play a game where he would be the boogeyman and would come to find us. We would all scream and run, him coming after us and catching us.
I miss that a lot, but I'm happy to have experienced that at least =)
By the way, I love this layout and how it changes color! ^^
Clarisse
My brother and I had a lot of childhood rituals, several of them involving our dad, mostly something to do with the two of us against our dad in some way.
We played hide and seek a lot, and the two of us always hid in the same place, because we had it in our head that it was the greatest hiding spot in the world; dad never found us. We eventually found out he was pretending not to be able to find us on purpose.
We had a lot of ongoing games like you. There was this complicated "secret weapon" game, which involved hiding, finding and attacking each other with these noisy toys we got from Burger King. We also used to call him "tabachoy" all the time, which is kind of our weird way of calling our dad "fat". He wasn't really fat though; the rest of us were just tiny.
Gosh, what a twist.
I thought it was just a lighthearted story from your childhood until I reached the end.
It must have been really scary. 🙁 I don't think I ever experienced anything like that. When I was a kid, I don't think I even knew what a seizure was; I definitely can't imagine seeing one in real life.
Shriya
Hi!
Remember me? We used to talk some, then you stopped blogging, and then I stopped blogging…and then I lost track. I remember reading an article of yours on how Twilight sucked, and rolling on the floor, so I thought I'd leave by.
I was not into practical jokes or even playing with people around me. Most of the time, I had my nose buried in a book or a journal. I used to read all the time to avoid talking to people. Even when I would be standing on the bus stop, waiting for my school bus, I would pretend I was reading something, so I never have any childhood experiences to recount. Well, regrets, shegrets.
Rachel
I was never particularly interested in making faces and things, I think I was probably a very boring child. Oh well, hopefully I'm more interesting now :')
But, as others have said, that ending was entirely unexpected…must have been terrifying.
Uglyfish
Oh my god! Was he okay? I really didn't expect that at the end! Bloody hell…
Rachel
Oh my goodness!! I assume the seizure was harmless and your dad was okay? I got seizure and stroke confused at first and I was extremely worried. D:
Jen
Oh gosh, that is really scary. How did you know that your Dad was actually having a seizure (and not doing the "sideways-macarena-dance"?) 🙂
I don't remember any of my weird or strange childhood rituals. All I can remember is that, I used to hide some of my cousin's things, then give it back to her when I got all the laughs that I need while watching her finding her thing (at an extreme point of anger) 😛 I was pretty lame back then. 😛
Mallory
OH MY GOD ARE YOU SERIOUS?! About the end of this entry, I mean! Geez, that had to be pretty damn traumatising for both you and for your Dad, yikes.
How did you find out he was having a seizure as opposed to just playing around …? Did someone else come into the room or what? Poor wee Justin! ;_;
Aashni
I've actually flown quite a lot – our family used to travel at least once a year since I was 6, and now I travel a lot myself back and forth from Uni, or Summer adventures. So getting double Wins isn't too hard 😛 hehe I have two flights just to get to Uni 🙁
And jeez, way to make me feel better about the whole wrong island thing. I don't even know how that happened! I'm an intense researcher when it comes to stuff like this, i'll double and retriple check destinations, flights, times etc. I think it was coz the place I was going to is "Bali" and when you type that into the airport destination, "balikpapan, Indonesia" came up.. and ya. I don't know. The rest of my flights and trip went well 🙂 Like my trip to singapore 🙂 hehe
Wow, I used to (and still sometimes) do things like make faces whenever I see my dad or sister.. When I see my mom I usually try to attack her fully on – apparently they had to brace themselves against a wall when I was younger! haha
I'm sorry about your dad's seizure! I hope he's ok, and that it wasn't due to anything too dangerous!
Jas
Hahaaaaa I had many little games like that when I was younger. Sounds like fun! XD
xo
Jhase
Wow, that was both awesome and not so awesome about the seizure. I don't think I have any real childhood games i played other than the usual generic ones. Now seriously, did you have to lynch the dolls? I mean they were only trying to make sure you stayed on the "straight" path. 😛
By the way, I updated, so you can rest in peace YO. 😀
Holly
Boobie-trapping the house reminds me of the Home Alone movies haha. One weird thing I remember doing when I was a kid was turning my slide in the back garden into a time machine. I was convinced it would work!!
I think that last comment you left on my website got deleted as spam. :'(
Rachel H
So funny because it's true lol I remember just laughing at dad for like ten minutes before realizing it was serious!! And the Arnold reference was creepy…Also the madonna performances still haunt me in my sleep. Love ya!!
Clint
You surely a fun kid when you're a little. I would really like to see you wearing your mom's high-heeled shoes and perform a classic Madonna song. Eeek!~
Jenny
Haha, I think we all did weird things as kids…I think I tried collecting my old chewing gum once, gross I know, but at least I never lynched my toys? Lol. The little game you and your dad had was cute, and I was smiling at the end…until you wrote that he was actually having a seizure. Yikes 🙁
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